Sam thought he was so sneaky.
Granted the kid was pretty damn crafty, but he was still 17 and not as smooth as he thought he was. It took several glances over his shoulder at clicked away computer screens and putting together random dates scribbled in the margins of notepads and favorite books before Dean was able to figure out that Sam was hatching a plan to take the SATs.
Why the kid felt he had to be so damn sneaky about it was beyond Dean. If he wanted to waste his time taking a stupid test, who freaking cares? It was like any other homework Sam wasted his time on. Great to know that stuff, but why bother working for a grade? Grades were stupid. Same goes for test scores. If you know your shit you know it, you don't need an A+ to prove it.
But whatever, Sam was so much like Dad about this shit. Always having to have a secret, even if the topic didn't matter to anyone but himself. Those two were like mirror images of each other, exactly the same but always on opposite sides. Dean wasn't gonna burst his brother's bubble about his test though. Let him have his secret plans. It'd be fun to see how he worked it out anyway.
Dean was pretty sure he'd been made to sign up for the SATs when he was in high school thanks to some well-meaning teacher, but he couldn't remember actually sitting down to take the test. Likely they'd caught a new case and moved on before the test date rolled around and Dean had never given it a second thought.
If Sam was gonna manage to sign up and take the test in the same area he'd have his work cut out for him. Dean remembered being told you had to sign up in advance, with all sorts of proof of identification and payment and that the test was three or four hours long. Tons of fun in his opinion, but of course Sam would love being tested. What excuse the kid was gonna use to get away for four hours on a Saturday though would be interesting. Especially now that Sam was never alone. Before Adam came Sam would have had a slim chance of getting Dad and Dean together on a hunt when test time came. But now with a younger brother in the game, even if Sam lucked out on having the older two Winchesters out of the picture he'd still have to contend with the responsibility of a younger one. And while Dean didn't think Sam took his part-time parental unit status quite as serious as he did, Dean knew Sam wouldn't abandon Adam in their motel room when the kid was already scared of being alone.
So Dean sat back and watched with a careful eye, wondering what all Sam's sneaking around really meant for the future of his little family. And while he'd never betray his brother's confidence to their father, he had to wonder if Dad knew about all this as well. Dean considered himself a decent hunter, but Dad was the best. Unless the shock of Adam was enough to distract him, Dad was probably watching Sammy just as closely
A/N- More to come on Sam's plan to make the break from his family! Thank you to all who take the time to read and review!